There are five methadone clinics in Bristol County, including two in New Bedford, serving about 2,600 patients on any given day, according to the state Department of Public Health.

In addition, there are three clinics in Plymouth County, including one in East Wareham, serving about 1,250 patients on any given day, according to information provided by DPH.

There are also two clinics in Fall River and one in Taunton in Bristol County. In Plymouth County, there are two clinics in Brockton, along with one in East Wareham.

About 15,500 patients are in the state's methadone treatment program on any given day and approximately 26 percent of them receive take-home doses, according to DPH.

The DPH allows methadone patients to carry-out as many as 13 doses every two weeks, if they have an unblemished 18-month record of compliance with the program, officials say.

Hilary Jacobs, head of the Bureau of Substance Abuse Services, said the DPH has strict regulations over its methadone program that exceed federal regulations.

Massachusetts does not allow any take-home doses in the first two months of treatment. It allows one take-home dose per week beginning in the third month of treatment and caps out at 13 doses every two weeks after 18 months of treatment. The federal program, on the otherhand, allows carry-out doses "anytime in the first three months of treatment" and permits a one-month supply of take-home doses following two years of continuous treatment, she said.

And while Jacobs will not say that methadone is "never" diverted from the program, she said the regulations are stringent and designed to prevent problems associated with diverting methadone, which can cause overdoses and deaths if it is mixed with other drugs as it has been in other states, or if it ends up in the wrong hands.

"Methadone in clinics (in Massachusetts) is extremely well regulated," she said.

None of the clinics in Massachusetts are owned by CRC Health Corp. of Richmond, Ind., according to Jacobs.

Police in New Bedford and Wareham report they have not had any problems associated with patients receiving take-home doses.

"We have no issues of that nature," said Lt. Kevin Walsh, a spokesman for the Wareham Police Department. "We have a lot of overdose deaths in Wareham, but they have not been related to the methadone clinic that we're aware of."

There have been "minor problems" associated with the clinic like the occasional argument in the clinic's parking lot that has required an officer to respond, he said.

Lt. Robert Aguiar, commander of the New Bedford Police Department's Organized Crime and Intelligence Bureau, which investigates narcotics activity, said he has not had any reports of methadone being diverted and overdoses or deaths that are linked to the program.

"It's possible, but I'm not aware of it. We have not come across that," he said.

Detective Capt. Steven Vicente, head of the NBPD's Major Crimes Unit (which investigates overdoses and overdose deaths) said they have had no cases that can be linked to methadone.

The requirements include an absence of drugs, including alcohol; regular program participation; an absence of behavioral problems and criminal activity; a stable home life and social relationships; an assurance of safe storage of the take-home medication; and whether the benefits of decreased program contact outweighs the potential risks of diversion.

Jacobs said anyone who is allowed to take home methadone is subject to "regular, random call-backs," where they must report to the clinic with all their medication, including empty bottles.

Failure to comply results in the immediate loss of take-home privileges, she said.

The federal government does not have a provision for regular, random call-backs, she said. "We have very tight control over our methadone program."